Indiecision: Music Blog: Independent Music in India and Elsewhere

LIVE: THE GIRAFFES @ BLUE FROG

It’s about time Blue Frog was shaken up.

The Giraffes, an Israeli rock act, had the sparse Tuesday night Blue Frog audience hooked; those who came for the music were caught by the music while those who came for the food were caught by charismatic frontman Gilad Kahana.

We met a tired (and hungry) Kahana, who was being denied food because of damage caused to one of Blue Frog’s lighting pods (details after the break), after the show and he told us that he’d like to be back in India soon. We can’t wait.

If you’re in Goa and wondering what to do on Dec 28, head to Hilltop, Anjuna and catch Girafot.

Take the jump for the review, pics and the Indiecision.

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LIVE: YAANA GUPTA @ BOOTLEGGERS

When not starring in item numbers, or giving out colon cleaning advice, Yaana Gupta occupies herself singing. The Bollywood starlet is well on her way to a career in music with an album release scheduled for sometime soon and a debut gig she played at Bootleggers in Colaba on Friday.

The gig was previously supposed to happen on Nov 27, but that got canned.

At Rs 1,000 bucks cover a head and the likes of Gary Lawyer and Lucky Ali attending, the gig promised much.

Head downstairs for a pics, the review and the Indiecision.

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LIVE: LIVEWIRE ELIMINATIONS DAY 1 @ IIT BOMBAY

IIT Bombay has its own charms and shitsticks. The lush green campus plays host to one of the biggest rock comps of the year and perhaps the worst organisation team of any such.

Livewire eliminations ‘08 saw 31 bands contest positions for the final Livewire show that was held on Saturday at Mood Indigo, the annual IIT Bombay festival. The eliminations were held on Friday and Saturday with the three bands that made it to the final (Slain, Zynegma, Rosemary) opening for Motherjane and Finnish ‘viking metal’ act Ensiferum on Saturday evening.

Sure, this review is late. But if you walked 20 minutes outside the IIT campus looking for a rik to take you to a cab to take you to a Yaana Gupta gig, you’d understand.

Head downstairs for a short review and pics of Khiladi, Workshop, Black and a kid.

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LIVE: ALISHA BATTH, THERMAL AND A QUARTER @ HARD ROCK

The recession is taking its toll on live music in Mumbai. Thermal And A Quarter ended their 75 minute set at the Hard Rock Cafe with less than 100 people in the audience, half of whom had come for the food.

Alisha Batth opened for the Bangalore giants who, according to a particularly interesting Mumbai Mirror listing, have been “trying to carve a niche for themselves for the last 12 years”. The listing went on to note

Opening for Deep Purple way back in 2001 got them a lot of visibility but it has only been in the last two years that they have started gigging extensively. Thermal and a Quarter have been recognised by various music magazines and their fourth album, This Is It, has received decent reviews.

With a preview like that, how could you NOT SHOW UP Mumbai?!

Head downstairs for reviews of both Alisha Batth and Thermal’s sets, pics and Indiecisions.

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